Month: December 2021

Home Speculation and Home Flipping Tax Proposal

This is to express our strong support in principle for Councillor Colle’s motion. House prices in Toronto are escalating rapidly month after month, year after year, making housing unaffordable for most Torontonians. These out of control housing prices are fueled by real estate speculators and house flippers (“investors”) who are buying multiple properties other than their primary residence. The Ontario Government is uniquely able to stop out-of-control housing prices by re-imposing a Land Speculation Tax to stop speculators from unfairly driving up the cost of housing in Toronto to unprecedented levels.

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Actions to Reaffirm Toronto’s Tree Canopy Target

This is to express our strong support for IEC’s recommendation that City Council reaffirm Toronto’s target of 40 percent tree canopy cover by 2050 to align with the City of Toronto’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy. However we strongly feel that mere reaffirmation of the 40 percent tree canopy target is inadequate and ineffective. We have to:

(1) actually protect the private trees that are of protected size;
(2) strengthen the Tree Protection By-laws,
(3) increase enforcement of the existing (and hopefully enhanced) Tree Protection Bylaws
(4) Increase replacement planting when trees are to be removed.
and
(5) maintain and enhance the existing protection for soft landscaping in the Zoning Bylaws

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Critical Steps for Net Zero by 2040

This is to express our strong support for this report and its recommendations. We do however question whether the City has a mechanism in place to ensure that its policies are in sync with respect to the City’s approved Climate goals.  We believe this continues to be an issue. For example elsewhere on City Council’s agenda:

PH29.2 Changing Lanes: The City of Toronto’s Review of Laneway Suites – Monitoring Program and Zoning By-law Amendments – Final Report
The proposed reduction of the soft landscaping requirement in the Laneway Suites by-law is contrary to the Climate imperative to maintain or enhance protection for soft landscaping in the Zoning Bylaws.

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TLAB Virtual Business Meeting, December 10, 2021

We offer the following comments and suggestions regarding the above noted items:

34.2 Public Guide Revisions 

We view the Public Guide as an important contribution to public education especially as it relates to self-represented parties and/or parties appearing for the first time at TLAB.

The Public Guide Revisions include both revised material and several new sections including Adjournment Requests, Motions, Affidavits and Recovering Hearing Costs.

We would like to provide feedback on several of the new areas covered in the Public Guide Revisions.

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Garden Suites Community Consultation

FoNTRA wishes to submit extensive comments regarding the November 2021 Online Community Consultation for Garden Suites. We request that the draft Permissions, Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA) be revised accordingly. We thank you for agreeing to an extension until Dec 7, 2021 for our comments.

Garden Suites is a housing initiative affecting the Neighbourhoods designated lands within the FoNTRA boundaries as well as all neighbourhoods city-wide. FoNTRA established a Garden Suites Working Group (GSWG) which has been deeply involved in the review.

FoNTRA recognizes that Garden Suites represent a feasible option for additional housing in neighbourhoods, but we believe that they need to be designed responsibly, in a manner which preserves the green space system that exists in the neighbourhoods, and such that they do not negatively impact on the adjacent neighbours, and the neighbourhood character.

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